Most people get a pet for their love of animals, either to shelter them or for the loving company that they offer. Some other people get pets for comfort and their snuggly fur. Along with the love of a pet comes the chore of feeding it and cleaning its litter box. If you want the snuggly soft feel of a pet but don’t want all those responsibilities, you can just get a robot. Not the hard metal robot of course, but this tail-wagging robot pillow is the ultimate perfection that you need.
Yukai Engineering Co, the Japanese company, has created a two-pound robotic pillow Qoobo to stay in your lap and wag its tail when you stroke it. You may be living in a place that does not allow pets, or you could be allergic to dogs and cats, or maybe you just want to be free from all the responsibilities. Whatever the reason is, your robot pillow will neither scratch your pillow nor poop around the house.
It is not a wonder that most weird inventions come from Japan, but this one was presented at CEATEC 2017 trade show held between 3rd to 6th October. The product will be commercially available by the next summer with a price tag of $100. According to the creators, Qoobo’s battery will last eight hours, and you can charge it by USB just like your smartphone. Apart from its fluffiness, the most important feature is its robotic tail that moves differently according to the way you pet it. When you stroke the pillow, it vibrates to emulate the behavior of a purring cat.
The idea popped into the mind of one of the Yukai Engineering’s designers who wanted a cat, but her apartment building did not allow pets. Qoobo is her idea of a pet substitute to comfort her because the head and the limbs did not sound very important.
Qoobo is designed to look more like a cat but Shunsuke Aoki, the CEO of Yukai Engineering, says that the movement behavior of the tail was designed after extensive research on both cats and dogs.
Like the furry animal and its wagging tail but you are too scared to touch one? Qoobo is your ultimate companion who will never scare you out. However, you will have to wait until 2018 to get your hands on one of the Husky Gray of French Brown ones.